Editor's note: This is the 10th in a series of stories previewing the 2018 high school football season in the Muskegon area.

MUSKEGON - When it comes to consistency, few high school football programs in Michigan have done it better the past three decades than Oakridge.

In the Muskegon area, only the Muskegon Big Reds carry a longer active playoff streak (18) than the Eagles (13).

Oakridge has made the postseason in 22 of the last 23 years, and in 27 of 33 seasons since first making it in 1985.

Throughout that stretch, if the Eagles have not been winning West Michigan Conference titles, then they've been right there the vast majority of the time.

Oakridge should be in contention again this season for the WMC title, as the Eagles aim to knock defending champion and fellow frontrunner Montague from its perch. By virtue of conference-championship contention, the Eagles could very well find themselves back in the playoffs for a 14th straight year.

"It's all about camaraderie, it's about unity, it's about family. There can't be the division," Oakridge coach Cary Harger said during MLive Muskegon Chronicle media day last week. "On our practice jerseys it says 'Oakridge' and there's a little football emblem and then it says 'Family' underneath, and that's been instilled to us through Jack Schugars through a number of years and it's always family.

"We do our breakdown as 'Family ... 1-2-3 family,' then '4-5-6 brothers,' so you have to keep that unity, and I think that's what's been the big, driving factor of being able to bring all those kids together not just for their own success but to play for the guy next to them; to let them have the success. Call his name -- don't call my name - call-his-name kind of thing, and I think that's been huge. That has to continue, that unity, that family."

Of course, it always helps to have a veteran group, and that's what Oakridge is leaning on this season.

A core group of six players is entering its third varsity season together, including senior Koleman Wall (quarterback/defensive back), Blake Masterman (running back/linebacker), Cole Harger (guard/linebacker), Peyton Young (two-way lineman) and Brandon Wilde (two-way lineman), and junior Leroy Quinn (RB/LB).

That collection of players has been part of 18 victories the last two years, including one conference championship and one district title. They were on the field as young players in a district finals loss to Ithaca two years ago and one year later in a regional finals defeat to Saginaw Swan Valley.

"When we went to Alma College to play Ithaca (two years ago), we had a very young team. These guys (the six, three-year varsity players) were on that team as sophomores and one freshman. As the game was getting more out of control, out of hand, (he recalls) looking out there and thinking, 'Wow, hopefully the future looks pretty bright for this group,'" Harger said.

" ... We kind of thought, 'Geez, we basically have a JV defense out there right now.' So we definitely felt good about the future, and that definitely paid off last year with kind of getting one of those district championships that eluded us for a couple years and getting to the regionals."

While some may look at the lopsided playoff losses to Ithaca and Swan Valley as downers, Harger said that the experience was invaluable. The returnees, especially the leadership group, is able to draw on that experience and use it as fuel going forward.

"It's huge. After a little bit of review, the memories come flooding back, the calls, the language, the lingo, and then of course getting them all back together on the same team, and they're going to act as on-field coaches," Harger said about leaning on his core group of leaders. "So far in our group work and that kind of thing, they're example leaders for weight room and group work and effort through the functional training workouts that we've had. It's just a great thing to have."

Oakridge has a wealth of experience returning this season. The Eagles have eight or nine starters back on both sides of the ball.

In addition to the usual WMC challenges, Oakridge faces a pair of nonleague tests against similarly-sized schools that also are no strangers to the playoffs: Remus Chippewa Hills in the opener and Berrien Springs in the regular-season finale. Both of those games will be played at Jack Schugars Field.

Oakridge finished third in the WMC in 2017 - losing 28-14 to Whitehall and 40-0 to Montague - after winning the conference title the year before.

The Eagles have big goals this season, including trying to advance further in the playoffs than last season, but they're focused on taking it one step at a time.

"You have to focus on the smaller things first before you can automatically say, 'We want to go to Ford Field,'" Cole Harger said. "We've learned that you have to have goals in the weight room, which lead to goals on the field, which lead to goals in practice. And then those lead to 'Let's win Week 1,' and then conference. You can't have that huge mindset because then you're not focused; you've got to be focused week to week."